258 SPANISH AMERICA, 



tions were made, having apparently for their 

 object a confirmation to the natives of Spa- 

 nish America, of all those privileges to 

 which, as subjects of the king, upon the 

 same footing as his subjects in the mother- 

 country, they were justly entitled. Had 

 these laws and regulations been really, and 

 in good faith, acted upon, Spanish America 

 might still have been a most valuable appen- 

 dage to the crown of Spain, much more va- 

 luable, indeed, than it ever was under the 

 administration of the successive governments 

 by which it was ruled. 



It is well known, however, that under 

 the system inflexibly pursued by the govern- 

 ment of Spain, the independence of Spanish 

 America, and the privileges of its natives, 

 became mere fictions of law. A number 

 was put together, of what were denomina- 

 ted laws, in decrees, in proclamations, and 



